ABOVE: detail from David Godbold’s Due Democratic Process (2003). Godbold is the official artist of the 2005 British election, but his work keeps getting rejected.

Today is election day in England, and so we bring you this out-of-date but topical tidbit on Irish artist David Godbold, who was named the official artist of the 2005 election in early April. In the last three weeks, he has been tagging along with the two opposition parties—apparently Phony-Tony Blair won’t let him on the Labour campaign bus—and attempting to come up with a work that adequately expresses the national sentiment re the election.

As The Guardian reports, he’s had some trouble, as his first draft was an anatomical study of a naked male politician, and he was curtly informed that no nudity was allowed. His second outing prominently featured the word “bastard,” and so it, too, was booted. As far as we can tell, the unveiling of his masterwork has not yet occurred (the last news item we’ve seen was around April 10) and with the election already in progress, he seems to be cutting it pretty close. If he’s stumped, we cheerfully suggest My Bed, by Tracy Emin, which—strewn as it is with dirty laundry, full ashtrays, empty vodka bottles, and a used condom—appears to accurately reflect the mood of the average english voter.

LINK: Official election artist’s brush with authority